Leading Cardiologist Joins Ontario Research Firm to Conduct New Clinical Trial on the Effect of Pantethine on Choleste...( Dr. John A. Rumberger and KGK Syn...),Health

Dr. John A. Rumberger and KGK Synergize Will Study Ingredient's

Impact on North Americans

NEW YORK, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Daiichi Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. of Japan today announced that it has selected world-renowned Cardiologist Dr. John A. Rumberger and the Contract Research Division of KGK Synergize Inc. to launch a new clinical trial to investigate the effect of Pantethine as a dietary supplement for lipid management and the reduction of cardiovascular risk factors in the North American population.

The randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study will be conducted in two North American locations by Ontario-based KGK under the direction of Dr. Dale Wilson, KGK medical director and principal investigator for the study.

An internationally recognized specialist in preventive cardiology, Rumberger currently is director of cardiac imaging at the Princeton (N.J.) Longevity Center, clinical professor of medicine at Ohio State University and former professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. He also is author of 'The Way Diet' which provides information about optimal diet, supplementation, exercise and stress management in preventing heart disease. He will offer consultation on protocol design and comment on the findings of the clinical trial.

The study design process started last month, study subjects at low to moderate risk levels of cardiovascular disease will be treated over a 16-week period, and results are expected by the third quarter of 2009.

Daiichi Fine Chemical, sponsor of the study, is the world's leading supplier of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and its derivatives, including pantethine, marketed under the brand name Pantesin(R). Sold in Japan for more than 35 years, Pantesin has been available as a dietary supplement in the United States since 1992. Although Pantesin's effectiveness in safely lowering cholesterol levels has been documented in more than 30 clinical studies, the new study will be the most e
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